Depression and paternal adjustment and attitudes during the transition to parenthood

ABSTRACT

Background

Depression symptoms may negatively affect the achievement of developmental tasks within the transition to parenthood, increasing the risk of paternal adjustment problems and negative paternal attitudes.

Objective

This study analysed the effect of men’s depression symptoms on paternal adjustment and paternal attitudes trajectories from the second trimester of pregnancy to six months postpartum.

Methods

A sample of 127 men completed measures of depression symptoms and paternal adjustment and paternal attitudes at the second trimester of pregnancy and at six months postpartum.

Results

From the second trimester of pregnancy to six months postpartum, men with more depression symptoms revealed a decrease on positive attitudes towards sex (while men with fewer depression symptoms revealed an increase), a steeper decrease in the satisfaction with marital relationship (than men with fewer depression symptoms), and a decrease in positive attitudes towards pregnancy and the baby (while men with fewer depression symptoms revealed an increase).

Conclusion

Depression symptoms early in pregnancy may represent a risk factor to increased paternal adjustment problems and negative paternal attitudes during the transition to parenthood.

KEYWORDS:

• Depression symptoms
• paternal adjustment
• paternal attitudes
• transition to parenthood

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Additional information

Funding

This study was conducted at Psychology Research Centre (UID/PSI/01662/2013), University of Minho, and at the Unidade de Investigação em Epidemiologia - Instituto de Saúde Pública da Universidade do Porto (EPIUnit) (UID/DTP/04750/2013). It was supported by the Foundation for Science and Technology (Portuguese Ministry of Education and Science) through National funds and co-financed by FEDER through COMPETE2020 under the PT2020 Partnership Agreement (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007653) and through the Operational Programme Factors of Competitiveness–COMPETE within the project ‘Health, Governance and Accountability in Embryo Research: Couples’ Decisions About the Fates of Embryos’ (FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-014453), the FCT Investigator contract IF/01674/2015 and PhD grants (SFRH/BD/115048/2016, SFRH/BD/75807/2011 and SFRH/BD/40146/2007). This study was also funded by FEDER Funds through the Programa Operacional Factores de Competitividade–COMPETE and by National Funds through FCT–Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (PTDC/SAU/SAP/116738/2010).